Appendices
Appendix III
7. Peel Children’s Water Festival
The 2009 Peel Children’s Water Festival (PCWF) was held between May 21 and May 27, 2009 (excluding Sunday, May 24) at the Heart Lake Conservation Area in Brampton. The PCWF is an annual, six-day environmental education event, which provides learning opportunities to students in grades two through five during the weekday event, as well as to all Peel residents at the Family Fun Day event. Using more than 50 practical and interactive activities, participants are exposed to important environmental messages related to the protection and stewardship of water resources.
The 2009 PCWF event marks the fourteenth anniversary of the festival, with more than 65,000 Peel students having attended the event since its inception in 1996. The planning and execution of the PCWF is achieved through the collaborative efforts of many external partners along with the Region of Peel Health Services, Corporate Services and Environment, Transportation and Planning Services departments. In 2009, the theme “When it Rains, it Pours – Climate Change” highlighted the effects of climate change on the water cycle. Climate Change is the weather conditions, including temperature, precipitation and wind, which are normal in a particular region.
The planning and execution of the PCWF is achieved through the collaborative efforts of many external partners and the Region of Peel Health Services, Corporate Services and Environment, Transportation and Planning Services. With significant support from the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), the festival boasts a local flare where visitors have an opportunity to learn more about local issues and projects undertaken by various community partners. Other groups in attendance included: Brampton Clean City, Eco Caledon, City of Brampton, Communities in Bloom, Credit Valley Conservation, Etobicoke & Mimico Creek Watersheds Coalition, Kortright Centre, Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club, Malton Environmental Stewardship, Ontario Clean Water Agency and Toronto Renewable Energy.
AAC members and Accessibility Staff
Hosted an Information and Activity Display
at 2009 PCWF Family Fun Day
In 2009 the festival’s organizing committee continued to improve on accessibility elements within the festival planning process. In order to mentor this objective a member of the Regional Accessibility Planning Program was part of the Festival Steering Committee membership. Members of the Peel Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) and staff of the Accessibility Planning Program also participated in the 2009 Family Fun Day event by providing a display booth focused on the connection to water and accessibility. Information about the Regional program and services was distributed at the event.
Athletes from Cruiser Sports
Educated Festival Participants about Wheelchair Sports
at 2009 PCWF Family Fun Day
As part of the display booth three athletes from the Cruiser Sports volunteered their time to showcase a basketball demonstration for those with disabilities, and they also invited community members to try their chances at wheelchair basketball, which was very popular throughout the day. Through the focus of making new activities more experiential and eliminating operational barriers, the festival greatly improved the overall accessibility of the event. Accomplishments included creating new activity scripts to be inclusive, comprehensive and experiential, to train secondary school students to present activities with accessibility in mind, updating park operations to include accessible washrooms and ramps to access various areas on site and editing communication material to clearly mark limited accessibility areas. TransHelp had also partnered with the PCWF to ensure increased accessibility at the event.
The planning and execution of the PCWF is achieved through the collaborative efforts of many external partners and the Region of Peel Health Services, Corporate Services and Environment, Transportation and Planning Services.
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